Package for elongate frangible articles having wide thin extremity portions



July 22, 1969 J. D. MILLER PACKAGE FOR ELONGATE FRANGIBLE ARTICLES HAVING WIDE THIN EXTREMITY PORTIONS Filed Nov. 6. 1967 INVENTOR. Jam D. Muse BY WA. scinu ck AWKNEWS United States Patent PACKAGE FOR ELONGATE FRANGIBLE ARTICLES HAVING WIDE THIN EX- TREMITY PORTIONS John D. Miller, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Owens-Illinois, Inc., a corporation of Ohio Filed Nov. 6, 1967, Ser. No. 680,707 Int. Cl. B65d 85/62 US. Cl. 206-65 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This application discloses a package for superimposed layers of vertically extending elongate articles having a wide thin extremity, e.g. glass stemware, such package comprising an outer parrallelepiped container which is partitioned into individual vertically extending articlecontaining cells by superimposed partitioning devices, each of which is comprised of intersecting laterally and longitudinally extending sheets of a suitable material, and a divider sheet disposed between the partitioning devices, said divider sheet having means interiorly of each recess which extend above and below therefrom beyond the edges of the pmtitioning devices to prevent the thin ex tremity of the packaged article from shifting laterally beyond the edge of the partition sheets which form the cell in which such article is packaged.

Brief summary of the invention This invention relates to the packaging in a single group of a multiplicity of elongate articles, each of which has a wide thin extremity, and the invention is especially useful in the packaging of articles formed from a frangible material. In the packaging of frangible articles, e. g. glass tableware, it is important to prevent individual articles in a single package from physically contacting one another to prevent impact damage to the articles caused by the rough handling which such packages often experience. Consequently, it is customary to physically separate the outer shipping container into a multiplicity of individual cells by means of one or more partitioning members, each of which is comprised of a first group of slotted sheets extending parallel to one another and a second group of slotted sheets extending parallel to one another and transversely of the first group, with the first group and second group being in frictionally tight intersecting relationship with one another by virtue of the slots of the respective sheets. In such an arrangement, the sheets of the partitioning member are usually formed of a material with cushioning or impact-absorbant properties such as corrugated fibreboard.

In the packaging of frangible articles with a wide thin extremity in the cells of a partitioned container, however, a problem arises in maintaining each article completely in its own cell due to the possibility the thin extremity, e.g. the foot of a glassstemware article, will, under the influence of dynamic loads, be wedged laterally beyond the adjacent edge of the partitioning member which defines its cell into an adjacent cell. When this happens the feet of articles in adjacent cells can collide leading to the chipping or other damage to one or both of the articles involved.

In accordance with the present invention, however, glass stemware articles may be more safely packaged in a partitioned container by providing means in each cell adjacent to the foot of each stemware article to positively maintain the stemware foot at an elevation which is out of alignment with the co-planar edges of the partitioning member sheets which define the cell in which the article is contained, viz. when the package in question is in its usual orientation, the bottom of the stemware foot will be maintained at a level between the top and bottom edges of its cell.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a partitioned package for a multiplicity of elongate articles having a thin fiat extremity in which means are provided in each cell to prevent the extremity of each article from being displaced laterally of its cell. It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a package in which, for ease of handling, such means comprise projections from a common and otherwise generally planar sheet which extends along the ends of the cells where the articles are contained. It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a package for an even number of superimposed layers of such articles in which the articles are oriented with their wide thin extremities facing toward one another and in which the means for displacing the wide thin extremities of the articles in each layer from the edges of the partition members forming the respective cells are comprised of projections extending in opposite directions from the central plane of a common, generally planar sheet located between a pair of such superimposed layers.

For a further understanding of the present invention, attention is directed to the following portion of the specification, the drawing and the appended claims.

Description of the drawing FIG. 1 is a vertical fragmentary view, partly in section of a package in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an element of the package of FIG. 1.

Detailed description of the invention The present invention is discussed in relationship to the packaging of a plurality of glass stemware articles 11 each of which comprises a wide thin foot 11a at an extremity thereof. However, in its broad concept, the invention may be considered to be applicable to the packaging of other articles of a frangible material having a wide thin extremity. A package 12 of the present invention is comprised of an outer shipping container 13, normally constructed in the configuration of a parallelepiped and normally constructed from a sheet of a material such as corrugated fibreboard which has good stacking strength and cushioning properties. In a refined and preferred embodiment of the present invention, package 12 is designed to accommodate an even number of layers of stemware articles, shown as two lays 14 and 15. The articles in each of layers 14 and 15 are oriented in a vertical direction (the term vertical as used in a relative sense based on the normal orientation of the package which is depicted in the drawing) with their feet facing toward the articles in the other of the layers. Each of the articles in each layer is maintained out of contact with other articles in the same layer in an individual articlecontaining cell 16 and the cells for the articles in layers -14 and 15 are defined, respectively, by partitioning members 17 and 18, each of which is comprised of frictionally engaging laterally and longitudinally extending sheets in a manner which is well understood in the art.

Layer 14 and its cell-defining partitioning member 17 is separated from layer 15 and its cell-defining partitioning member 18 by a separator 19 constructed of a formable sheet-like material, e.g. a sheet of thermoplastic material such as polyethylene. Separator 19 is shown in both FIGS. 1 and 2, and, aligned with each of the cells 16 in a given layer, shown as layer 14, has means extending from the central plane of the sheet into the cells, such means comprising frustoconical-shaped projections 21. Aligned with each of the cells 16 in the other layer,

shown as layer 15, sheet 19 has additional means extending beyond the other side of the central plane of the sheet into each of such recesses, such additional means comprising three frustoconical-shaped projections 22 extending in the opposite direction irom the fiat side of projection 21. Projections 22 are of course, narrower and longer than projection 21 and are located equidistant from the central axis of projection 21.

The use of a sheet 19 with projections 21 and 22 extending from opposite sides of the central plane thereof, in the manner described, serves to maintain the footed portion 11a of each stemware article in layers 14 and 15 out of alignment with the edge of the respective partitioning elements 17 and 18 which divide each layer into cells and to thereby prevent the footed portion of each article from wedging itself beyond the edge of its cell into an adjacent cell and possible impact with the article in the adjacent cell.

The best mode known to me to carry out this invention has been described above in terms sufliciently full, clear, concise and exact as to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the same. It is to be understood, however, that it is within my contemplation that certain modifications of the above-described mode of practicing the invention can be made by a skilled artisan without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A package comprising, in combination: a plurality of glass stemware articles, each article having a wide thin wedge-shaped footed extremity, said articles having their longitudinal axes extending parallel to one another, being disposed in a layer extending transversely of the longi tudinal axes of the articles, and having their wide thin extremity portions disposed to the same side of the layer; an outer container encompassing all of said articles; a partitioning member comprising laterally and longitudinally extending intersecting sheets disposed within the container and dividing the container into a multiplicity of cells, each of said cells containing a single elongate member disposed with its longitudinal axis extending generally parallel to and generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the cell; and means disposed in each cell for maintaining the wide thin footed portion of the article therein at an elevation between the top and bottom edges of the walls of the cell, whereby the footed portion of each article is positively prevented from laterally shifting into an adjacent cell to be damaged by contact with the article in such cell.

2. A package in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means comprises projection means projecting into each cell from a common and integral member.

3. A package in accordance with claim 1 wherein said container comprises a parallelepiped-shaped container formed from a rigid sheet-like material.

4. A package comprising, in combination: a plurality of elongate glass stemware articles each having a wide thin wedge-shaped footed extremity, said articles having their longitudinal axes extending parallel to one another, being disposed in two adjacent layers extending transversely of the longitudinal axes of articles, and with the footed extremity portion of each article in each layer being disposed toward the articles in the other layer; an outer container encompassing all of said articles; first and second adjacent partitioning members, each comprising laterally and longitudinally extending intersecting sheets, disposed within the container, each of said partitioning members forming cells for the articles in a given layer, each of said cells containing a single elongate member disposed with its longitudinal axis extending generally parallel to and generally aligned with the axis of the cell; and means disposed between the cells and the partitioning members for maintaining the wide thin footed portion of each article in each of the cells out of alignment with the juncture between the partitioning members, whereby the footed portion of each article is positively prevented from laterally shifting into an adjacent cell to be damaged by contact with the article in such cell.

5. A package in accordance with claim 4 wherein the cells defined by the first and second partitioning members are generally aligned with one another, and wherein said means comprises a common integral sheet-like member having first projection means projecting beyond one side thereof into the cells defined by the first partitioning member and second projection means projecting beyond the other side thereof into the cells defined by the second partitioning member.

6. A package in accordance with claim 5 wherein said first projection means comprises a first hollow frustoconical-shaped member and wherein said second projection means comprises second hollow frustoconical-shaped means projecting from the flat end of said first frustoconical-shaped member, said second frustoconical-shaped means being narrower and longer than said first frustoconical-shaped member.

7. A package in accordance with claim 6 wherein said second frustoconical-shaped means comprises three substantially identical frustoconical-shaped elements disposed substantially equidistant from the central axis of the first frustoconical-shaped member.

8. A package in accordance with claim 4 wherein said container comprises a parallelepiped-shaped container formed from a rigid sheet-like material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,215,252 9/1940 Randall et al 2l726 2,205,886 5/1950 De Reamer 2l726 2,965,226 12/1960 Ettlinger 20672 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 217-27 

